Surge

Overview

Surge is an SMS, MMS and voice API from Surge Communications Inc., founded by Dennis and Brett Beatty and part of Y Combinator's Fall 2024 batch. It registers 10DLC campaigns and verifies toll-free numbers for you, reporting a median approval time of about 25 hours for 10DLC. It targets developers, AI coding agents and vertical SaaS platforms that need one account per customer. RCS and WhatsApp are on its roadmap but not yet available, and it has no iMessage.

Key features

• REST API with SDKs for TypeScript, Python, Ruby and Elixir
• Brand, campaign and number provisioning by API, with number porting and hosted messaging
• HMAC-signed webhooks for messages, opt-outs, campaigns and calls
• Embeddable inbox, conversation and softphone components
• Voice (pre-GA): outbound calls, recording, voicemail and ElevenLabs, Retell and Vapi voice agents
• OTP verification API, scheduled sends and blasts
• Agent onboarding API that creates an account and key in one call

Pricing

Plans are a monthly commitment credited toward usage: Hobby $5, Starter $20, Growth $100 and Custom from $250. US SMS costs $0.0079 per segment and MMS $0.02, plus carrier fees. Local numbers cost $1.15 a month and toll-free $2.15. New accounts get a shared demo number for 25 test texts.

How it compares to Linq

Linq sends iMessage, RCS and SMS from managed lines; Surge covers SMS, MMS and voice only. Linq charges a flat fee from $260 a month with no per-message fees, while Surge bills per segment and per minute against a plan credit. Surge places outbound calls and connects voice AI agents, while Linq's docs say its API does not place or answer calls. Linq reports SOC 2 Type II; Surge's security overview lists SOC 2 Type 1.

Best for

US developers and vertical SaaS teams that want SMS and calling with carrier registration done for them, and do not need iMessage or RCS yet.

Sources

• surge.app/llms.txt
• surge.app/about
• surge.app/pricing
• surge.app/security
• surge.app/skills.md
• surge.app/changelog
• docs.surge.app/llms-full.txt
• docs.surge.app/quickstart
• docs.surge.app/api-reference/introduction
• docs.surge.app/api-reference/webhooks/intro
• docs.surge.app/api-reference/webhooks/signature-validation
• docs.surge.app/channels-roadmap/rcs-and-whatsapp
• docs.surge.app/channels-roadmap/voice
• docs.surge.app/phone-numbers/purchasing
• docs.surge.app/phone-numbers/importing
• docs.surge.app/sdks/index
• docs.surge.app/embeddable/index
• docs.surge.app/resources/hipaa
• docs.surge.app/registration/one-account-per-customer
• github.com/surgeapi